Christian poetry & essays about one woman's faith walk.

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With aching heart I turned to God,
“How can she treat me so terribly?
With no respect or understanding?
Dismissing my love so carelessly?”
I quickly named Him a top ten list,
Of the examples of her rude behavior.
And followed that by all the things
That left me with a bitter flavor.
When I at last grew silent and waited
For my Father to validate my hurt,
He said softly, “My Dear Child”,
You too have stomped my feelings into the dirt.”
Puffed up with foolish pride I said,
“No, my dear Lord, never have I!”
But I caught hold of countless memories,
That could fill the canvas of the sky.
The times I failed to thank Him,
For His provisions of the day.
Or times I didn’t try to hard at all,
To follow anything He had to say.
By my actions I have denied His place,
As my God, my Savior and Friend.
Truth is, I all too readily forget
To speak to Him for hours upon end.
Aren’t my sins what condemned my soul?
Aren’t they what put Him on the cross?
Wasn’t I the one upon His mind,
When the Son paid my sins cost?
Suddenly my complaints sound small,
My head is clearer and I can forgive,
I will think about my own attitude,
Pray harder for the life God have me live.
Before I can cast a stone at someone,
For a wrong they’ve done to me,
I must first be without sin myself,
My relationship with God where it should be.
—dfav 7/18/17

Yesterday Lord, the place was crowded.
People everywhere promising so much,
With expectations and dreams so bright,
It all seemed so possible in the bright light.
This morning Lord, the crowd has thinned.
Some have left afraid of the possible pain,
For the route to success is no longer in sight,
The support they all promised took flight.
It’s you and me in this ongoing struggle,
Yesterday, today and tomorrow I know,
Regardless Lord of what I can see,
You are always right beside me.
Can’t base my walk with You, Lord,
On other people’s interpretations,
May this life with You be between You and I,
Help me live by Your will until the sweet by and by.
dfav 5/30/17

Thoughts gather about the ones
Whose lives once intertwined with mine.
Who invested prayers and time
To try and help me my life to shine.
The loved ones I hold so dear,
Whose paths have gone to another time.
Who are at peace and now have no tears.

To not miss us, those who’ve been left behind
It must just be the notion we’re coming soon,
As if we’re only next door or in the next room?
We’ll be there before the clock strikes noon?
Perhaps that is what death truly is,
A passing from the earthly to Heaven’s room?
Still I think of them and grief makes me sad.

Oh, the Homecoming we will surely have
When at last we’re all gathered home.
To be in the presence of our Holy Father,
And know from Him we’ll never more roam.
All together we will love God more,
And so love one another in our Heavenly home.
I can remember those gone and smile.

Today Lord, I pray,
For these fellow brothers and sisters
Who for church homes they do seek.
We know there’s a place for them
To draw encouragement from every week.
Not a place for their entertainment,
But one where they can actively participate.
Not just on church committees,
But among those whose needs are great.
A church that still believes in the Bible.
Believes that it teaches right from wrong.
A congregation of God worshippers,
Who hear and mean the lyrics of their praise songs.
No church we know is perfect,
Comprised of flawed human kind,
But guide them to Your choice for them to serve You,
And help them understand what they find.
dfav 5/12/17

These bodies You created are frail.
Yet they are also strong.
They fail when we need them most.
Yet keep going when least expected.
They sometimes appear to have hesitated,
Then soar over the worst conditions,
As if never to have even paused.

You’ve allowed mankind to open mysteries,
To learn how, why, when, what of these flesh,
Prolonging life beyond expectation,
Allow us our illusions we can conquer all,
But we’re not immune to the fall,
Death always stalks each of us,
Down the corridors and life’s halls.

Even in what we call a tragedy,
I will stand though weary of standing,
Though the storms are rolling in the harbor,
My anchor is forever attached to You,
It must not matter what Death comes to do,
Who it comes to claim, or scare, to scar,
My faith in You, Lord, must carry me through.
dfav 3/24/17

Today, the mood within me is foul.
It is ugly, mean and downright hateful
And if my friends and I value our relationships
We’re going to keep our distance
Or it won’t stop ’til one of us throws in the towel.

Lord, I recognize the anger boiling in me isn’t balanced.
It isn’t interested in any more information
And I’ve tolerated all this woman can.
For this one period in time can’t they just be quiet?
Or one of us will be shocked I ever kept anything silenced.

Lord, it isn’t one thing I’m ticked off about,
So warn others to not try to reason with this ugliness,
They, nor You have to accept it,
Run in the opposite direction quickly!
But if they choose to stay and prod the bear, the mean is coming out.

Today, Lord, I would like to slap the smugness,
The arrogance, the entitlement right out of people,,
So I plea with them to back away, far away
And take their immaturity right along with them,
Cause I am angry with no desire for righteousness.

Lord, You know the many times I have kept my temper,
I have looked at it from all sides,
I have tried to understand for the children’s sake,
I have prayed and given things time to settle,
But today my off switch is stuck on anything but off or simmer.

Lord, You brought these friends into my life for a reason,
Never before have our differences been so apparent,
Our hearts cores so clearly exposed
Our understanding so obviously in different camps.
Is this Your way to say our friendship is out of season?

For today let’s keep me off of Facebook,
Nurture Your love in me and Your thoughts,
If this is Your way of calling me to take a stand,
To be an opposing voice to the rhetoric,
Let me react in a godly way and with a Christ-like look.

Meanwhile Lord, can we just keep everyone silent?
Between the pain, the uncomfortableness,
The lack of self-control with taking the medicine,
And the hormones racing through me,
I need silence, blindness or sleep mercifully sent.

Today’s poetry offering stems from a very real prayer between my heart and God’s ear recently. As the attitude in our country becomes more and more “non-Christian” I realize how precious the freedom to choose the God I worship is to me. If faced with denying God or losing my life I believe I am a Christian strong enough to choose Him through the end. If faced with denying God or my child’s life ending my confidence is shaken. I am her mother. My job is to nurture her into a young woman whose faith chooses God. Some costs are greater than our own lives. How about you? What shakes your confidence?

It’s an uneasy feeling that arrives
When I think of facing the decision,
Either denounce You and live or
Claim You as God and die.
I hope I can face that and do You proud,
Speaking Your name clear and loud.

Giving You my own life’s final breath
I believe I can do that without wavering,
My spouse and child will understand,
But there’s a weaker spot they can reach.
I pray it’s one I never have to face,
For it’s one of a very different race.

What if Lord, they threaten my child?
Even knowing they most likely will lie,
Promising her life if I deny You,
Will I, as her mother, be able to not go wild?
Will I proclaim You are the Lord God Almighty?
Refuse to deny You are God for all eternity?

How did You stand back God, when man,
Came dragging Jesus off for false charges?
How did You keep Yourself from stopping them?
These leaders of false teaching and corrupt man?
Only You could be that brave and right,
To assure us the chance to see His light.